Window Cleaning & Safety
Window Cleaning & Safety
In Melbourne you will get no objection from neighbours if you choose windows on appearance alone. They won’t care if your windows and doors are aluminium or wooden, sliding, awning or tilt & turn. They are not the ones who have to clean them! Melbourne might be a clean green city, but your window glass will surely get dirty. This is not usually a problem at ground level where you can clean the inside from the inside and then stand in the garden to clean the outside glass. On the other hand, if your house has high windows, cleaning them safely and easily can be a challenge.
Building sites and houses vary. Many higher windows can be effectively cleaned from outside using a ladder or something attached to a long handle if you have one. In either case it requires a person who is fit enough and confident enough to take on the task. Naturally, the use of ladders is somewhat more risky than using a pole of some sort for the job. There are also certain regulations around safety that govern exactly what you are permitted to do from a ladder, even though it is on your own property. The issue is safety. There are some windows that may be simply too high, or too hard to access from a ladder or using a pole. So, how does a home owner who loves the sparkle of clean glass clean those higher windows? Let’s look briefly at the pros and cons of different window types.
The outside glass of certain window styles can be cleaned from inside. With these window types height above the ground is not an issue. You might guess that sliding windows are in this category. Not so. To clean the outside glass of a slider you must first be able to remove the insect screen, even then, you can only clean the outside of the opening glass because it then covers the fixed glass. The fixed glass must still be cleaned from outside or left dusty. With outside opening window types the insect screen is inside and cleaning is possible, but can be quite difficult because you must put one strong arm out and use a long handled cleaning tool to reach the far side of the open glass. The best windows to clean from inside are inward opening types like casement windows and tilt & turn windows. In both cases the insect screen should be easily opened or removable from inside after which the cleaning is relatively easy. That covers cleaning the windows glass safely. Now let’s look at how we stop toddlers falling out or unwanted visitors climbing in through our open windows.
One of the great benefits of any opening window is its ability to provide ventilation to a room. How can you let that fresh Melbourne air into your home and minimize risks? If we assume that it is only smaller children who are at real risk of falling from higher windows, then the simple answer is to set such windows well above floor level and make sure chairs, beds and other climbing aids are not left handy. Additionally you can choose casement windows, for example, that use position fixing struts that are difficult or impossible for little children to operate. In this way windows may be safely left ajar for ventilation when required. In the case of the top opening tilt & turn style windows there is virtually no risk of children climbing or falling out as the opening width is restricted as well as being at the top of the room. Sliding windows usually employ a rod that lies inside the frame and prevents the sash from opening too far. It represents reasonable security for your children as small children are not very likely to notice the rod or find it easy to remove it.
Don’t forget; there is no law in Melbourne that says you must use the same type of window throughout the house. You can match the colour and look of your windows yet vary the type of window. Why not use a slider or tilt & turn above the kitchen bench where ventilation is important and obstruction might be an issue? Why not use inward opening windows where outward opening sashes might obstruct footpath traffic? Why not use simple casements or awning windows in the toilets and tilt & turn windows upstairs? The main thing is to become familiar enough with your choices that you can be confident of the features and benefits you will have to enjoy later on. When you choose the perfect windows for your home it will not make much difference to the overall safety and comfort of Melbourne, but it will make a real difference to you.
